April 04, 2010

We're Moving ... To New Hampshire!

Yes, indeed. We're moving the sanctuary to New Hampshire. That's what the new place looks like above -- 120 acres of forest and fields, with a pond, spring, a house big enough for both dogs and people, a huge barn, and a 5-bay equipment shed. It's located in Lancaster, in the northern part of the state that everyone there simply calls "the North Country."

You may want to pour yourself a second cup of coffee -- or a second glass of wine, depending on what time of day you're reading this -- because this will be a long post!

Last year was our 10th anniversary here in Ovando, and it made us start thinking about the next 10 years ... and the 10 years after that. Alayne and I are in our early fifties, and we began to ask ourselves, is this where we want to be when we’re in our 60s? In our 70s? We plan to be running this wonderful sanctuary for a long time to come, but is this the right place to do it when we’re that age?

To understand some of our thinking on this, you need to know that we believe gas prices will continue to rise significantly over the next decade or two, simply due to global supply and demand dynamics. And because of our current distance from services — we’re 70 miles (112 km) from vet clinics, grocery stores, banks, etc., so it’s a 140-mile round trip to do anything — the cost to operate the sanctuary from this remote a location will escalate a lot as a result. (It’s gone up a lot already in the 10 years we’ve been here.)

Moreover, as gas prices increase in the future, people will have less discretionary income to spend on things like charitable donations, and nonprofits like ourselves can expect to see downward pressure on revenues over time. Thus from the expense side, we want to reduce our cost structure as much as possible so we can be prepared for this more challenging economic environment. (As if the current economy isn’t challenging enough!) That means moving much closer to services.

We also want to move closer to services and a larger population center for other very important reasons:

First, it will make it easier for us to recruit and retain good employees. We will have a much larger pool of candidates to choose from, and they will be able to work for us without having to relocate. It was always a major problem for us to hire employees here, because most people did not want to move to such a remote area. And of the few who were willing to move out here, most quickly tired of living so far out. They wanted to go out to dinner, see a movie, go on dates ... and that is tough to do when you’re more than an hour away from a town of any size.

Second, being closer to a larger community like Lancaster, which has more than 3,000 people itself and many thousands more in the vicinity — will make it easier to get volunteers. We have been blessed with a dedicated team of fabulous volunteers, but because of our distance from Missoula and Helena, it’s been a pretty small group over the years.

Third, being close to a much larger population will also give us a better opportunity to find and develop people to succeed us some day. As we get into our 60s, that succession plan will become increasingly important.

So how close are we to services in Lancaster? We’re only three miles from the center of town. Yes, even though we have a private, end-of-the-road setting, we’re that close to town. The vet clinic we're going to use is just minutes away.

Another benefit of this kind of proximity is that spending less time on the road gives us more time
back at the ranch getting other work done.

Wait, there's more!

As most long-time blog readers know, we’ve always tried so hard to provide a “home-style” environment here for the animals, so they would feel like family pets and not like they were in an institution of some sort. Because our own home was so small (1,400 square feet, or 130 square meters), that meant constructing several cottages and other buildings, like Widget’s House, to house the dogs. But that also added to our operating costs, because we had all these other separate structures to heat and maintain.

And it meant that a large group of dogs, the ones at Widget’s House, were living separate from us ... something we’ve wanted to change for a long time. So as we explored the idea of a move, we thought a lot about accomplishing two objectives when it came to animal housing:

1) reduce the operating costs for animal housing, while

2) shifting from a “home-style” environment to a true “in-home” environment for all the dogs.

With the property in Lancaster, we managed to do just that! The house is 3,600 square feet and has two wings, one of which is large enough to house all the dogs under one roof — while the other wing is where we will live and where the sanctuary offices will be. The large dogs will go on the first floor (with their own solarium!) and the small dogs on the second floor. There’s also a large corridor (really, an interior wing) connecting the two wings that has tile floors, and that’s where the incontinent dogs will be. The corridor has south-facing windows the entire length and even a ramp coming out the door — perfect for our little Dachshunds like Bailey! This is what the dog wing looks like, and you can see the ramp in this photo:

Here's the inside of the dog wing on the ground floor:

Pretty nice, eh? The amazing thing is that it is almost exactly the same size as Widget's House -- actually, a tad larger!

The upstairs, where the small dogs will go, has a full bathroom, so it will make it easy for bathing and grooming. This is what the "Beagle/Dachshund Annex" looks like:

Between the ground floor and second floor in this wing, we will have more combined space than we have today with our multiple dog cottages here at the ranch.

Something else we're really looking forward to: No more trudging 75 yards (68 m) down the drive at 9 p.m. to head over to Widget’s House to let them out one last time and then put them up for the night. All we’ll have to do is go down the hall! The cats will have their own separate quarters in a heated room in the barn, with big south-facing windows of their own. (They can't be in the house because Alayne is very allergic to cats.)

Here's the outside of the people wing:

Although it looks larger in this view, it's quite a bit smaller than the dog wing, as you can see from this interior view of the living and dining area, taken from the kitchen:

Those beams give you an idea of the history here: This was originally an 1800's farm house, completely restored in the 1980s. The dog wing was added on at that time. A lot of people like that old farm house look with the heavy beams, but it's not really our style ... we're more into clean, modern design, but that's okay!

Here's the kitchen:

This next shot is a wide view of the entire house ... that tree in front we've already named "Bailey's tree," because we can't wait for him to be able to go out and lie on the grass underneath it:

Another way we plan to reduce costs long-term is to become more self-sufficient, and this property gives us much more ability to do that. For instance, we'll be able to use the wood from our own woodlot to heat the buildings with woodstoves. We also want to be able to put up our own hay, which has become increasingly expensive to buy because of rising fuel and fertilizer costs. Out here in the West, you need both sufficient water rights and irrigation equipment to have enough water to produce a hay crop, and we have neither. In New Hampshire, there is plenty of rainfall and no irrigation is necessary. Speaking of feeding hay, grazing season begins in April in New Hampshire, while we can’t begin grazing here until June 1 because of the climate. That’s a lot less hay to feed!

And yes, that climate in New Hampshire was definitely another attraction. Though it’s still “snow country,” it’s a much milder climate than where we are now. I think the day Alayne and I finally decided to get serious about moving, back in December, it was 22 below zero here and 24 above back there. We had just finished scooping poop that morning, our hands were frozen, and we thought, we’ve had enough of this kind of cold! As much as we’ve loved living out here, we realize that dealing with the persistent sub-zero temperatures every winter will not be something we want to do in our 60s and 70s. (We realize it can get sub-zero in New Hampshire but it's not anywhere as extreme as where we are in Montana.)

Here is a view of the 3-story barn that has 7,200 square feet (669 square meters) of space, accessible from both the north and south ends:

Love those garage doors for easy opening in winter! There are garage doors on the other end for the middle floor, too.

This is the equipment shed:

I mentioned a pond at the beginning of this post:

Yes, we will fence it off to make sure no blind dogs or blind horses wander into it. It's fed by a permanent spring that also provides the water to the house and barn.

This is the view from behind the house, taken from the pond ... people wing on left, dog wing on right:

So, why New Hampshire?

We did look at other places around the country — the Pacific Northwest, Virginia, and elsewhere — but the real estate prices for the kind of property we were looking for were by far the most reasonable in New Hampshire and Vermont. (Yes, we looked at many properties in Vermont, too.) This place in New Hampshire was $663,000. Here in Montana, a place like this would have run into the millions of dollars. Also, the fact that New Hampshire has no sales tax will save the sanctuary a lot of money compared to other states we looked at. No personal income tax is another benefit!

We are going as fast as we can to get out of here so we can get this place on the market as soon as possible. (No, we don't know what we're going to be asking for it yet. We're getting it appraised first.) As you can imagine, the logistics of this are daunting -- animals, ranch equipment, supplies, tractors, not to mention our own household goods -- all have to moved. We have lined up haulers to move almost everything, and the first shipment of equipment left last week.

The most difficult thing to plan for was how to move all the dogs and cats. We have hired an outfit that specializes in cross-country ground transportation of pets. We have contracted for their entire fleet of vans and drivers to do this. They are picking up most of the dogs and cats on May 24th. The horses will be leaving the same week. (Yes, and the goats, too.) Alayne will still be here with about 6 dogs, and I will already be back in New Hampshire by then to be on hand to receive the animals. I’ll be taking 8 of the dogs with me. Alayne will stay here for a while to help close up and get it ready to go on the market.

Now, some people will ask whether this move isn't going to be hard on the animals. No, it's not. Most of the animals have come here from distant places, so cross-country travel is not new to them. Moreover, these animals have already overcome significant hardships -- abandoned at shelters and coping with disabilities like blindness or missing limbs. Traveling to New Hampshire will not be a problem for any of them! They will take it in stride, just as they have in overcoming their disabilities.

---

For the next few months ... through June ... our address will continue to be the same. We'll post our new address on the blog when we're officially there. If you have a recurring online donation set up, you won't need to do anything.

---

I'm leaving on Tuesday for New Hampshire with the truck and horse trailer full of stuff -- dog crates, bedding, litter boxes, a few household goods, water tanks for the horses, etc. I will be meeting with a fence company so I can get them started on the dog fencing we need around the house; with the people who will be installing the Internet access; and others.

Because we are particularly swamped as a result of this entire adventure, please hold emails and phone calls if at all possible and use the comments feature on the blog instead. I'm sure there will be quite a few questions -- many of them similar in nature -- and it will make it easier for us to respond on the blog than by individual email or phone call. We are just out of time. I hope you will understand!

---

Please
keep voting
for the ranch in the Shelter Challenge -- and you can
vote every day! We're currently in fourth place and still on
track to
win $3,000 for the animals, but every vote counts! We just slipped from
third place to fourth, so please help round up as many votes as you can
so we can stay in the running for the $3,000. Ask your family and
friends to vote for the ranch, too!

Enter "Rolling Dog Ranch" and
our state
postal code,
MT, for Montana, and it will bring up our listing.

Comments

Hi folks. I read about you on Jack Hanna' s website & read about your move. I live in the Pacific Northwest in S Oregon. Too bad you didn't look here. Places that large are still pretty reasonable. However, since I have lived in both CT & MA I definitely understand I loved it there. May all the blessings you deserve come your way. If we had the money we would do w hat you do for cats, we've already adopted several!! I will try to donate when I can. Take Care

What an amazing story! I am really impressed with the compassion you demonstrate & the organizational skills you used to make it all come true! You are in my thoughts & prayers . . . Mary Pasanen, Norfolk, VA

Saint Francis is sure watching over your animals..I am in Canada and can't vote for you. You are doing what all my life my vision was looking forward to. Anyhow..lovely story and always may your karma reach out far. Namasté

I learned about your organization by watching Jack Hanna's Into the Wild TV Program. My hat is off to you! What a great place for animals that have no other options. Good luck with your move. I will add a link to your web site on my informational web site and will be keeping up what is going on with your work.

Montana has lost a precious resource. We wish you the very best and will always support the wonderful things that you do. As we continue to help our animal friends around Montana, you will be in our thoughts.

Incredible story on Jack Hanna's program about Rolling Dog Ranch. I'm glad you were able to move into a more accessible location and thank you for taking care of so many disabled animals. Your dedication is fantastic!

I saw your story on Evening Magazine the other day, or the last part of it. I have heard of you before and total admiration I have for you is great. I live in the Seattle area and am in my early 40's. I also think about my future and where I want to be, to live. I know 'my work', my passion are with animals. During the week, I work at a bank, on the weekend, I volunteer at an animal shelter, working with dogs. What I love about WHY you made the move, is that everything had great thought to it. Deep, sincere thoughtfulness.
As for now, I will save you as a Favorite and follow your Blog/Website. But I do day dream of where I want to be...for the rest of my life. The 'Farm' looks Heaven-sent! Congrats to you and your Family, all of them.
--Big Fan,

In the last 24 hours I learned of your rescue, read about your place in Montana, and moved with you (via articles and blogs) to New Hampshire. Phew!

Thanks for doing what you do and being so conservative in your decisions. It was a very wise move. They will keep you young!

One question, though: how on earth will your disabled dogs get around on that big slippery floor? My arthritic old dog needed carpets or non-slip rugs to be able to navigate on hard wood floors as weakness and pain affected his legs and back.

What a beautiful place you have moved to in New Hampshire.....just gorgeous. We to moved with a lot of critters when we moved from northern Idaho to Northern Minnesota. Now we are ready to move one last time (we are mid-60's) and have even more animals to transport. Most are rescues and I will keep them all and move them all (18 of them). Was hoping for some moving tips however from you to help us in our move. Thanks and good luck and thank you so much for what you do for the animals.

hope your move goeswell. saw you on animal rescue and was deeply touched by what you do for the animals. wish you the BEST and will check your site often . thanks for your wonderful work. also your new place looks beautiful.

Sorry to hear that you're leaving Montana but I understand your reasoning. When I moved here 40 years ago I asked myself many of the same questions. Ultimately I decided that I love it here more than I missed the things that available elsewhere. My wife and I take in homeless dogs and cats when we have the room and envy your scale of operation. Best of luck to you and all your critters in their new home.

Welcome to New Hampshire. We would like to post an article about your ranch on our blog. Our company provides relocation services to those moving to our beautiful state and we seek to promote all aspects of the exceptional quality of life. Thank you for bringing us another landmark to highlight in our articles.

It really makes me cry,to know that there still are people that will go the whole length in helping animals. But it's tears of joy. I'm also trying to start an animal sanctuary,but here in Bloemfontein in the Free State of South Africa. I'm not going to have such a beautiful place like yours,but I live on a small holding. Well I guess I've got to start some where and build my self up. I just want to say keep up the good work and please keep your fingers cross so that my sanctuary works out. Regards Dominique

The pictures above are beautiful. I am so happy the sanctuary has moved. I am going to be moving to New Hampshire next semester. I am going to be a full time student and also work full time. With the way the economy has been I have been so nervous about the expense of it all. I was fortunate enough to find a moving company that is going to lessen the expense for me. They have been absolutely wonderful. The name of the company is http://www.ssmovers.com I ope if you find yourself in a jam and need a moving company you will consider them.

I commend and thank you for all of the work that you are doing with these beloved animals. My daughter has a deaf pit bull, and I was searching around the internet for info on deaf dogs when I ran across your site. It gives me hope that sweet Krymson can have a normal life. I have not yet convinced my daughter to keep her since she is a college student and has very little time for her. (she was a gift for Valentine's Day from her boyfriend). She dearly loves her, but feels that she just doesn't have the patience. I hope that we can find her a perfect home.
Again, thank you for saving these beautiful animals! They have a wonderful quality of life at your organization.

Just read about your sanctuary in the Best Friends magazine and wanted to say thank you! It's not everyone one who will give "disabled" animals a second chance and I think what you're doing is great! Congrats on the move and welcome to the east coast. Good luck to you and all your friends - hope everyone is settling/has settled in well!

Wow. What you do is beautiful. It breaks my heart to see animals in pain or mistreated. Thanks for sharing your journey, and we wish you the best of luck! Is there a way we could help support this ranch?

Hello, received newsletter on Saturday. Finally had time to read blog tonight regarding your move. Wow! Sounds like lots of thought, planning and activity this past year. I'm glad the move went well. I wish I was 15-20 years younger; I'd sign up to be the future for your pets.

Wonderful news. Success to you! We have given support for several years and will continue, with renewed conviction. We moved at age 65 from the East to California with 7 cats in a motorhome. Having never been in a motorhome before leaving Pennsylvania it was truly an experience. The cats all survived! Again, we are love the work you are doing. Jerry

Steve and Alayne,
I hope the move went well and everyone is settling in. The new place is beautiful and as always you have put so much love and thought into the needs of the animals! I am always so moved by what you do for these lovely animals and so glad that they are in a loving place after all of their hardships. Anyone who sees your photos or videos knows that the animals are so happy and in a truly loving home. Thank you for all you do!

Steve & Alayna:
So glad to hear of the successful move to N.H. Now that you are closer to me (Maine), I will be sure to visit once you've settled.!
I've spread the word to many to please direct funds to your most worthy cause,..hope they listened.!
I wear my t-shirt proudly and tell everyone (whether they ask or not!) about you guys and all the wonderful work you've done and continue to do...keep it up.!!
Best to you both (and the animals)

Steve and Alana,
Best of luck in your new home!
I've always wanted to visit you, but Montana is a long way from New Jersey. It looks like I might now get that chance!
May God bless you for all that you do for those poor creatures that no one else cares about.
All the best!
Don Vosseller

Hi you two. It has been awhile since I have checked in on everyone at rolling dog ranch .. Wow, you've moved NICE. I am so very happy for all of you! Steve, wish I could have sat with my glass of wine and read up but fighting a very bad cold so I am going to bed and will read up on the move at a later day. but before I do I just had to send you a "way to go" note and tell you again I think you both are angels from heaven ! Will check back in later (when I am over this darn cold). Congrats.
Hugs to you all,
Karen

This morning I watched a Jack Hanna show in which your sanctuary was showcased. I was so impressed - rescuing disabled animals! I had never heard of a sanctuary dedicated to such a wonderful cause. I have a big heart for "special needs" animals and, aside from all the "healthy" but unwanted animals that have found a home with me and my husband over the last 35 years, have adopted-rescued a number myself: pregnant dog (kept the mom and one pup) and a tiny sweet guy with non-functioning back legs (both miniature poodles) rescued from a group of 110 kept by a hoarder; blind doxie from Mexico; one-eyed cat; three-legged cat ("Tripod" naturally ;-); and most recently a very old, sweet deaf stray dog from our local shelter whom, sadly, we had to put down only a couple of weeks ago.

I was involved with shelters and other rescue groups for many years and, as a result, a number of horrific animal seizures from this area. I still foster motherless kittens for our local shelter.

Although my funds are limited (current pet count is 10 cats and 2 dogs) and I usually donate locally, I was so overwhelmed by your compassion and motivation to provide a loving sanctuary for disabled animals, I am compelled to help. It's not much, but it will help.

I also have a K-9 cart specially made for a now-deceased border collie that I would happily donate if you could use it. I saw a number of dogs on the show who could benefit from it I think.

I'm sure hoping buy now the nightmare of moving is over. The property and buildings look wonderful and I am so happy for you to find something the meets so many more needs and will help with succession planning as well. I've been to Ovando and the isolation, especially in the LONG winters, would grow tiresome. Not to mention, if I may say so, the Lincoln/Ovando ethos is a little scary at times. Best to you both and update us on how everyone is settling in.

I have not kept up with your move. Or your former ranch here in Montana. I for one, would have been glad to come and work there, as well as relocated to join the staff. I would love to find a place for my non-profit, and have been trying for donation of land for a while now. At any rate, I'm hoping your contacts here in Montana can help me, or if you would want this little girl, let me know. I have 2 double merles, one boy, one girl ... both fixed, UTD on shots, and about 6 months old. they can see fine, but are deaf. Actually the little girl can hear just a little bit. Whistles, pans banging, etc. I need an active home for her because she is so smart. the little boy is so laid back, he gets along with the pack here, and helps with the aggressive ones that I help. The little girl is really submissive to all other dogs, and very kind to everyone but her brother, who she really attacks in play. They are coming into their own, and know basic signs ... their names, come, sit, stay, wait, watch me, and down. I would like to have her go to an active home, and let her develop her personality. He, too, needs to develop what I'm seeing to be a totally different personality when separated from her for training. Please let me know what you could do to help.

I am going through some self-introspection as to where to spend my 60's etc. and totally understand your making this wonderful decision - on so many levels - it is PERFECT!!!! The location and all the buildings couldn't have been better and the scenery and pond are magical - reminds me of Waldon's Pond!!! Bailey's Tree is special too - this place will be a forever sanctuary for the animals that have for so long been the main theme in your lives - I commend you and wish you all that you would wish for this new place and your new lives. Your future planning is also wonderful and please let us know whether you form some kind of foundation for people to name in their wills so the sanctuary can continue long into the future in this new Garden of Eden!!!

Hi Steve & Alayne. I am looking for a place to work, in your field. I have already been out to Best friends Animal Sanctuary, in Utah. A friend told me about you, and I hope I can come visit you too,sometime soon. I am a certified dog trainer, and have worked with horses and marine animals. I fly for the airlines now, so I can go anywhere, to find my perfect fit. Eventually, my life will only be about the animals. That is my passion! Looking forward to talking with you and meeting you. Thank You, Sincerely, Tina Bentzer ph.(773)866-1973.